Senior Citizens Embrace Celebrating A New Kind Of Prom

No matter what your age, a special night out can lift your spirits and make you smile. Perhaps that’s why a new trend in senior living has been gaining momentum. In fact, there are even Pinterest boards dedicated to this new type of event – senior citizen proms! These events are serving as a great opportunity for seniors to have some fun, reminisce, socialize and connect with their community.

Senior citizen proms are being organized by retirement centers, but also by community groups and even high school students who create an inter-generational event by having both senior citizens and senior high school students attend.  Planning committees come together and do an outstanding job of making sure that these events are just as memorable as the ones attended more than 50 years ago!

What goes into a successful senior citizen prom?

• Music: The soundtrack for the event includes some current hits but focuses on music from the era of those in attendance. Music has some amazing benefits for seniors, and during these events, many prom attendees commented how much they loved being taken back to the memories of their high school prom just by being immersed in the music for the evening.
• A Theme: Options such as ‘A Night in Paris’ or ‘A Night to Remember’ are popular and add to the prom feel. Theme food is a great way to tie it all together – adding in some favourites from when the attendees would have been in high school is also a fun idea.
• Prom Queen and Prom King: Yes – there are crowns given out! It is not uncommon to see the winner dancing in their wheelchair in the middle of the dance floor after being crowned King or Queen for the evening. This night is all about fun and those in attendance are happy to forget about any limitations they may have and embrace the excitement of the evening.
• Volunteers: Enlisting high school students or other community volunteers is a great way to add more depth to the event and give senior citizens a chance to connect and socialize with people of all ages.

Why Senior Citizen Proms Are Important

• Sometimes it is hard for seniors to make plans and goals for the future, but it is important to encourage them to still do so.  A unique and fun event like a senior citizen prom is something to look forward to.
• Being active and socializing are two other important things that seniors should be doing to stay healthy – this event will get them dancing and connecting with people in their community.
• Inter-generational connections. Senior citizen proms are commonly being organized by high school students and it is so rewarding to see young people connecting with seniors and breaking down stereotypes and barriers.  Each generation has so much to learn from each other.

Do you know of any senior citizen proms happening in the Oakville, Milton or Burlington area? We’d love to hear about them! Be sure to ask the seniors in your life what they think of the idea of attending a senior citizen prom.

iCare Home Health is committed to improving the lives of seniors by providing exceptional home care and elder care. If you are looking for someone who truly cares and will operate like an extension of your family, contact us or call us 905-491-6941.